An astute bank employee and a quick response from police last Thursday saved an elderly man from giving $20,000 to a scammer.

The man was contacted by someone posing as a Microsoft employee and was told to withdraw $20,000 from his bank account in order to obtain a “refund” he was owed. After some transactions, the scammer claimed the company overpaid the victim and asked the victim to pay the company back. The scammer instructed the man to call him once he had the money in hand and that the scammer would pick it up from the man’s house.

The bank employee assisting the man recognized this transaction might be a scam and contacted police. Officers arrived shortly and convinced the man not to give his money to the scammer. When investigators called the scammer’s number, the scammer hung up and inactivated the number.

While the victim in this case did not lose any money, every year victims in Eden Prairie and across the U.S. are duped into believing scammers’ convincing pitches to part with their money.

Scammers can be very persuasive and use tactics that prey on people’s fears and vulnerabilities. They spoof caller-ID numbers, email addresses and names to appear legitimate and make threats that sound credible. The perpetrator may impersonate the IRS, a police department, the Social Security Administration, a bank, a utility company or a grandchild in trouble. If you receive a call or email that seems like a scam, the best thing to do is hang up immediately or delete the email — do not engage and do not send money or gift cards.

While the EPPD investigates all reports of scams, they are often challenging to solve as it is difficult to identify suspects who are not using their real names and often live outside of the U.S. The phone numbers and email addresses used to perpetrate the scams are quickly disconnected or are associated with throwaway phones that cannot be traced. Once thieves receive the money, it is spent immediately before victims have a chance to realize what happened.

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, please contact the EPPD at 952-949-6200.